Class Notes | 1970s

Hi all. As promised in my last class notes, I am updating everyone on turnout for our 45th Reunion that was held in May. The weekend was extremely well attended by our class. We broke the 45th Reunion attendance record with 83 attendees, surpassing the previous record of 61 set by the Class of 1974. We also set several fundraising records for a 45th reunion, which will benefit so many current and future Wes students. It was great to see old friends and actually meet several classmates I had not known before. Everyone was upbeat and welcoming, and it was truly just a fun atmosphere. Our class is pretty great. For those who were not able to make it (sometimes life gets in the way), mark your calendars for 2029—hopefully the turnout for our 50th milestone reunion will be terrific also!

As mentioned on the Wesleyan website (under Alumni Awards) from which I am excerpting in part the following, our very own David Kendall was awarded the James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award during reunion weekend, which recognizes a member of the Wesleyan family whose writing or other creative achievement conveys unusual insight and understanding of current and past events. David is a writer/producer/director who has worked in both television and film for decades. His credits include series for broadcast networks, cable outlets, and streaming services. He’s been a member of the Writers Guild of America since 1985 and a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1990. Among his many accomplishments, he has produced and written for iconic situation comedies like ABC’s Growing Pains and Boy Meets World and has directed classic children’s programs like Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Disney’s Hannah Montana. He has credits on over 40 different television series—more than 600 episodes. He recently returned to campus to teach workshops in film/TV directing. He and his wife, Wendy, reside in Los Angeles and have three adult children, one of whom is a member of Wesleyan’s Class of 2024.

And our very own Pamela Dorman was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award during reunion weekend, the details of which I am also excerpting in part from the Wesleyan Alumni Awards page. This honor is presented to alumni in recognition of achievement in their professions. Pamela is senior vice president and publisher of Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, which she founded in 2008. In her more than 30 years at Viking Penguin, Pam has published multimillion-copy, #1 New York Times bestsellers, including The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard (the first selection of the Oprah Book Club), Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (a Reese’s Book Club Pick), and books by a number of other New York Times best-selling authors, including Jenny Jackson’s Pineapple Street. She has also published a wide range of nonfiction, including books by Bill Gates, Marcia Clark, Andrea Mitchell, Steven Levy, Peter Kramer, Peggy Noonan, and Maria Shriver. She and her husband, Stuart Krichevsky, live in New Rochelle, New York, and have adult twins, Nicholas Krichevsky, a software engineer, and Sophie Krichevsky, a local newspaper reporter.

Congrats to both of you, David and Pamela! Such well-deserved recognitions of your respective lives’ work!

George Kirchwey sent an update. “I returned to Wes in late May for the 45th, in a way: the daughter of dear friends was graduating with the Class of 2024, so I came back for only the second time since 1979. On Saturday, I met up with Carl Boland, who started with our class, at the big tent. I had dinner with him and his lovely wife, Jennifer, a few days later. Carl and I then vanished into his basement with guitars and jammed out the classic-rock oldies (it prevents aging, I’m told). Sorry to miss the Class of 1979 reunion dinner—it sounds like quite a turnout. I’d have liked to have met a bunch of you. I’m guessing your varied paths through life have been pretty interesting. I still toil in the stony fields of finance in Dallas, where I’ve lived ever since our graduation. My wife, Judy, and I just observed our 41st anniversary. I’m not quite ready to retire yet and working from home makes things easier. Texas has changed and grown exponentially since I got here, in ways both welcome and not. I’m in regular touch with several classmates who either graduated or started with us: Carl Stibolt, Chris Berlew, Ces Harshman Johnston, and Rob Sloan. I have Wesleyan to thank for bringing us all together, 50 years on.”

Willie Jones also checked in with news on his retirement. “I regret that I missed our class reunion, but I was busy ‘getting my ducks in a row’ to retire as the Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation director, effective July 1, 2024. It has been a great 20 years. Our department has truly upgraded the park system to make Charlotte/Mecklenburg a highly desired place to live, work, and recreate. I plan on traveling, reading, drawing, painting, golfing, exercising, and spending quality time with friends and family, including my two grandkids. I’ll remain in Charlotte so feel free to check me out if any ’79ers pass through.” Willie, kudos on what sounds like a great and rewarding career and a busy and fun retirement!

And here is a great write-up from Julie Hacker about recent happenings in her life. “My partner, Stuart Cohen, and I have a new book out entitled First Addition Strategies for Adding On by ORO editions available on Amazon. Our architect total practice is alive and well, producing additions, remodels, and homes along the North Shore and in Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago has acquired some of our models for its Department of Architecture and our drawings for its archives. I also sit on the AIA Chicago Board and on the steering committee of our local CRAN (Custom Residential Architects Network). Our son, Gabriel Cohen, is a practicing sculptor and gallery manager in Los Angeles. We just visited him and saw his solo show, God Where Are the Eyes of a Murderer, in Los Angeles. He will be part of a group show in New York City this September. Finally, I am still taking my musical theater ensemble classes in Chicago, which is a huge counterpoint to the daily struggles of being an architect! Anybody in Chicago, look me up!”

And finally, Jack Freudenheim wrote a meaningful tribute to—and sent along the below link to the truly heartwarming obituary notice for—Doug MacKenzie ’89, who died in his sleep of natural causes on July 19, 2024. Jack writes: “Doug MacKenzie was a fellow South Indian music student, after my years, but we made friends afterward. He helped his professor, T. Ranganathan, through Ranga’s fatal illness, tending to him daily until his death in the 80s. Doug passed unexpectedly in July. He was a friend to many Wes students.” Here is the obituary link: Doug MacKenzie .

That’s it for this issue. Thanks for the submissions!

Greetings ’78ers,

Here’s what several of your classmates have been up to lately:

Lucy Mize has had a busy year traveling to Thailand, Indonesia, Belize, Mongolia, Canada, Philippines, and Morocco. She reports that next year will be pretty much the same with Cambodia and Fiji thrown in. Her travel is all for work, which she says depending on the election outcome, could come to a screeching halt. Between trips, her granddaughter turned one and she will defend her DrPH on November 4, 2024.

Lindsay Mathews went hiking in Switzerland, Italy, and France last summer and is looking forward to hiking in Madeira, Portugal, in March 2025.

In June, classmates Eleanor Maine, Barbara Malt, and Joyce Manchester converged at the home of Judy Packer Jesudason and James Jesudason in Boulder, Colorado, for three days of high-altitude fun and reminiscing.

Jim Washington checked in from Hanover, New Hampshire, where he just graduated from Dartmouth’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies—Creative Writing degree program (poetry). His prior MA was earned at the University of New Hampshire—English/writing. He was surprised not only to be elected class marshal by his fellow students but also to receive a Thesis Excellence award.

Bill Adler has loved living in Japan for the last 10 years. He still enjoys writing short stories, playing with his cat, and traveling in the country.

Last year, Beth Robinson left her career in global health care and began helping to care for her one-year-old grandson. She enjoys spending a lot of time with him and helping support her daughter and son-in-law as they juggle full-time work schedules. Beth has also gone back to writing creative nonfiction—where she started and what she loves. In the prior 40 years, Beth has co-authored public health books, directed strategic communication, information dissemination, knowledge management, and learning programs, edited many hundreds of reports and articles, trained working journalists in Africa to report on HIV, and taught scientific paper writing to scientists in Latin America and Africa. It has been her privilege to collaborate with ministries of health, civil society organizations, and others in Africa to develop national health communications strategies and to manage communication on groundbreaking HIV research trials.  

A shout-out to five pioneering women athletes from our class: Joan Chevalier, Dianne Edgar, Kathy Keeler, Cynthia (Pygin) Markert, and Fran Rivkin will be inducted into the Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame Class of ’24 at a reception and dinner on campus on November 1, 2024. Joan, Dianne, Kathy, and Cynthia were on the 1978 women’s crew varsity 8 boat that captured first place at the Dad Vail Regatta. Fran excelled in five sports: track and field, field hockey, ice hockey, basketball, and lacrosse.

We always look forward to hearing from you. Please email us any news and we’ll be sure to share it with your fellow classmates in the next Class Notes.

Cheers,

Susie and Ken

If there is a theme with this issue’s class notes, it is travel. So many folks have broken free of the COVID grip that kept us planted at home that people are once again traveling to all sorts of places. Deb O’Brien Mercer spent a month on an epic 3,200-mile car trek north, from home in Savannah, Georgia, to Washington D.C., New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, visiting friends, children, and grandchildren. Near Savannah, Deb has completed a three-year home renovation project: two years alone for DIY interior painting. Savannah is a wonderful city that Deb has experienced as friendly and welcoming. I would add that it is a bit quirky, which contributes to its charm.

Rabbi Keith Stern is senior rabbi at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton, Massachusetts. Full disclosure, my firm was hired by the temple to design a chapel addition and renovation for Beth Avodah, which was a true pleasure. Keith’s three Wesleyan-grad children are all gainfully employed, with two married and a third “on deck.” The past year has been very difficult for Keith with the rough situation in the Middle East.

Don Citak writes about a Boston gathering in honor of Jeff Gray’s 70th birthday that included classmates Bob Nastri, Dave Thomas, Eric Postel, Paul Fichera, and Dave Matteodo. The successful surprise party included other Wes grads: Alan Poon ’76, Bill Ahern  ’78, Ralph Rotman ’78, Paul Nelson ’78, John McDermott ’78, Kevin Bristow ’79, Gary Breitbord ’79, Tim Fitzgerald ’79, Dennis Robinson ’79, George DuPaul ’79, Jack Buckley ’79, Tim O’Brien ’81, and Dave Bagatelle ’86. What a group! Don is living on the Upper East Side in Manhattan with his bride of 43 years, Lori, and living not far from his two children and five grandchildren. Don’s law practice, which he enjoys, is keeping him busy.

Jennifer George writes that she has retired from her chaired professor position at Rice University Business School to assist ailing family members. She now resides in Key Biscayne with her dog, Teddy, and enjoys visits with her adult children.

Dave Schreff continues to grow a global marketing technology company, ACTV8me.com, with focus on sports properties and campaigns. He has celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary, enjoying his three children and grandchildren.

J. Mark Beamis writes that as of this past June, he has concluded his over 44-year career with the City of Boston. His career dates back to the days of former mayor Kevin White. To quote J Mark:

“For me, government service has been rewarding in ways I never imagined. It’s been an incredible privilege to work for and with so many talented and committed colleagues. We all shared the goal of helping City residents get the assistance they need and deserve, to be financially empowered, and to have the language and job skills needed to be employed in family-sustaining careers. It also has been an honor to work with so many directors and staff of community-based organizations, whose passion for the work they do to support their missions has never ceased to amaze me and inspired me to be a better human.” The City was most fortunate to have you on their staff for so many years. Congratulations on starting your new chapter!

Jane Eisner has completed writing her second book, an interpretive biography of Carole King for Yale University Press to be published in 2025. Jane and Mark Berger ’76 traveled to Israel and caught up with Rachel and Micha Balf. Micha is living “day to day,” spending time with a lot of people for meaningful interaction and good talks. We all hope that the future will be better and that Micha’s health is on the uptick. Jane is in touch with Don Lowery and Jonathan Kligler (whom she got to meet up with at a spiritual retreat). Jane echoes my sentiments that family and friendships mean everything these days.

James Porter checked in, reporting that his three children are spread across the country, with one living near him in Norwalk, Connecticut. James’s company, StressStop, is helping employers help their staff manage stress. James’s two-year-old granddaughter is pictured here (left).

James keeps in touch with Neely Bruce and attended a performance of his string quartet at a church in Stratford, Connecticut. Chopsticks were used to strike the strings of their instruments for one of the movements.

Beth Natrella reports that her adopted daughter, Anastasis, graduated from Ursinus College with a double major. “Tasha” was adopted from Russia in 2005. Proud mom Beth refers to her daughter as the “light of her life.” Newly retired, Beth is living with her daughter in Battery Park City, New York.

Phil Stern sends a shout-out to his former bandmate from back in the day, Robert Poss ’78, who released a new solo album this year, Drones, Songs, and Fairy Dust, an album Robert dedicated to the memory of Phil Niblock.

Cindee Howard has been traveling up a storm: British Columbia, St. Thomas, and a road trip through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and Maine. When not traveling, Cindee is dancing up a storm and playing mah-jongg. Below is a photo.

Iddy Olson held a very moving and joyful celebration of her recently deceased mother, Mary, in Chicago in July. Having known Mary for over 50 years, I made my way to Chicago to visit with Iddy’s family, including my godson for a meaningful visit.

After Iddy’s mom gracefully left this life at 95 in April, she took a trip down memory lane in Rhode Island, “where I lived for 18 years and raised our kids.” Along with husband Tom, Iddy caught up with Michael andLaurie Coffey at their beach house and found them really enjoying semi-retirement (rewirement for me).

Finally, from me: I have just returned from the Tetons in Jackson, Wyoming, visiting friends, godchildren, and enjoying mountain air and much fun and extensive hikes. Your updates mean the world to all the classmates, especially at this point in our lives. Keep those “cards and letters” coming, even electronically.

And a final, final sad note: Mike (or Micah) passed away at the start of the Jewish New Year after a lengthy illness. He was surrounded by his loving family including his wife, Rachel (Helfer) Balf. The outpouring of affection from our classmates is the mark of a life well lived. Micah’s absence is profoundly felt.

Congratulations to Barbara Strauss! In May she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Bar Association of Orange and Sullivan Counties for her stellar career in family law in the Hudson Valley.  

Hubert Horan reports: “Late on this news, but when I had to pass through Philadelphia last September for a flight back home to Phoenix, I reached out to InTown 22 roommate David Loder ’77 to see if he was available to get together for dinner. He was not only available but reached out to our other three roommates—Bernie Possidente, Andy Silverman, and Ted Smith, who all agreed to drive to Philly for the occasion (from Saratoga Springs, suburban Boston, and northern Virginia respectively). David graciously put all four of us up for the evening at his lovely home in Chestnut Hill, very close to where Ted and I had once lived. Had not seen any of them in person since graduation, but all were doing well, and it was like we were picking up conversation from last month. Also, a couple weeks ago (in May) my wife and I got to spend time with Bernie and his wife when we were passing through Albany.”

Deb Neuman writes: “Barbara Strauss and I spent a wonderful first week in August at her beloved Lovell, Maine, resort, Quisisana. A week of amazing food, relaxation by the lake, reading, walks, Broadway-level summer stock performances (also opera and chamber music) and, best of all, wonderful friendships.”

From Susan (Petersen) Avitzour, who previously shared with us the joy of her marriage to Fred Landman in August 2023: “Fred and I did have our chuppah as planned, despite the Iranian missile attack the night before (which I like to call our ‘pre-wedding fireworks’). It was a joyous event, with people in the mood to celebrate not only Fred’s and my good fortune but also the ineffectiveness of the Iranian attack.”

Meredith Bergmann’s latest works were unveiled on August 17 in Ithaca, New York. The life-size bronze statutes portray Frances Perkins, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and Lucy Brown, an Ithaca activist and beloved Cornell staff member (who is still alive at age 91!). The unveiling ceremony, Meredith’s work, and tributes to Ms. Perkins and Ms. Brown can be found at https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/08/. 

Tom Kovar responded to my plea for notes with this: “Okay, okay! Starting to enjoy my very recent retirement after a 46-year career as a clinical social worker. Some ongoing medical struggles, but things seem to be improving in that arena. Hoping for more time now for all sorts of creative and social activities! Keeping my brain active with participation in my local trivia night on most Thursdays.”

Cindy Arnson “spent the summer gearing up to teach a new fall class at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, on conflict resolution and peace processes in Latin America.” While officially ‘retired,’ she also traveled over the summer to Costa Rica, Colombia, and Panama for various speaking gigs, conferences, and board meetings. She and her husband, Gerry, were able to gather all their adult offspring in July for a belated 70th birthday celebration on the island of Kauai (Hawaii). On the way back to the East Coast, she and Gerry also spent a few wonderful days in Seattle visiting with Wendy Lustbader and husband, Barry.

David Cohen recently enjoyed a mini-reunion: “This photo was taken just last night [August 2024] at a terrific Italian restaurant on Long Island. Matt Paul, Mike Greenberg, and I gathered, with our spouses, for our annual weekend get-together, this year at Matt’s house on the south shore of Long Island. We were sad that Stewart Shuman had to bail out at the last minute. As usual, we ate and drank well while talking lots of minor topics like science, kids, politics, careers, world events, Wesleyan, Wordle, Spelling Bee, and the meaning of existence. All mixed up with glorious, late-summer sunshine, a long walk on the beach, a beached shark encounter (successfully saved), and an invigorating swim.”

Craig Tighe writes: “I will be spending the next academic year studying climate change and technology at Stanford University as a Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI) fellow.”

B.J. Buckley has good news to share! “I have two new poetry books! Flyover Country—which is available from Pine Row Press (or signed copies directly from me at wild4verses@yahoo.com)—came out in June, with a gorgeous ink transfer print/watercolor cover by South Dakota artist Mark Zimmerman. Night Music, with scratchboard cover art by Wyoming artist Dawn Senior-Trask, is forthcoming in late November from Finishing Line Press.” Their website also has the blurbs and sample poems. There’s also more info and sample poems on B.J.’s website: wild4verses.wixsite.com/b-j-buckley.

B.J. also writes, “I’m also happy to say that for the first time since the pandemic, I have a couple of arts-in-schools gigs in February and March 2025 in the far northeastern corner of South Dakota. Looking forward to seeing if my driving-through-blizzards skills remain intact.”

Nic Collins has joined the ranks of retired folks! “In May I retired after 25 years of teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, joining our classmates who chose the milestone age of 70 as the time to move on. This was made easier by the administration’s decision to eliminate my department (the oldest program in Sound in an American art school), and it feels more like quitting a day job than ending a career. I’m currently immersed in final production stages of my fourth book, music life continues (based mostly out of Berlin), and West Falmouth, Massachusetts, provides my saltwater reward. Anyone interested in buying a beautiful pre-war co-op apartment on the lake in Chicago?”

Jim Johnson has a marvelous travel blog that’s well worth reading (jimstravels.substack.com). He writes: “I just completed four months in the Balkans and the Caucasus. Most of the trip was return visits to some of my favorite locations: Istanbul, Bulgaria, and small villages on three Croatian islands. I also made my first visit to the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. My primary focus has been writing about my experiences and observations in my blog and for an anecdotal-style book about my half-century of travel. I’d been a part-time freelance travel writer for several decades and, now that I’m retired, have gotten back into it. Writing and travel have been lifelong passions, and it’s great to have both so central to my life. Of course, I also set aside plenty of time to relax and regenerate.

“I had the great pleasure of attending an East College(ish) mini-reunion this summer with Beth Penney Gilbert, Janet Brooks, Elana Rudavsky, David Harmin, and Marc Stier. (Thanks to Beth’s husband, Tom Gilbert, for being a wonderful host, and to Marc’s wife, Diane Gottlieb ’80, and his daughter for putting up with all the reminiscing!) We were so fortunate that Marc and his family were in Massachusetts for summer vacation! It continues to amaze me that the second I hear someone’s voice, the years fall away, and I see them as they were when I first met them in 1972. What a wonderful group of people.”

Adrienne Scott and Sandy Guydon sent this sad note: “Please say prayers for our dear classmate Lynette Vialet who, as of this printing, is in hospice care in Denver, Colorado, after a courageous battle with lung cancer. Feel free to reach out to us: adriennescott297@gmail.com or slguydon@gmail.com.”

I am very sad to report that Joanne Perpetua passed away in February 2024.  You can find her obituary at https://www.peckservices.com/obituary/Joanne-Perpetua.

You may recall that in our last notes I reported on David Harrison’s unexpected death. I had an amazing experience in May attending his memorial service at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge. I arrived just after it started and stood in the back for a while until I spied a seat closer to the front that I could slip into unobtrusively. When Mark Allard ’74 started speaking, he named other Wesleyan friends in attendance, and I realized I had plunked down in the midst of four DKE brothers—Bill “Zim” Zimmerman ’74, Jim “Fats” Farrell ’74, Jim “Jumbo” Daley, and Dave “the Rave” Terry, all of whom had come from afar to be there. It feels odd to say that such a sad occasion turned, afterward, into a great time talking about what a complex and wonderful guy we had come to honor, our memories of life in the early days of coeducation, and half-century friendships that followed. The whole day reminded me what great company we were in during the early ’70s at Wes, how easy it is to kindle or rekindle friendships from those formative years, and what fun it is to connect with one another when we can. Dave Terry described the day as a “mixture of grief, remembered hijinks, and joy at reconnecting.”

Speaking of Dave Terry, his health report is that a TAVR aortic heart valve replacement in July had him in and out of the hospital in 24 hours and left him feeling “as if I have been gifted an additional 50 to 100K miles!”  It was the wake-up call he needed to close his criminal defense practice after 45 years and more than 1,200 jury trials. Dave decided to “close up shop, live in Loreto/Ligui, Baja Sur, five or six months a year. Proud to announce I will be teaching beginning inglés classes on Fridays to the primary students in Ligui every Friday!” 

The first reply to my call for Class Notes was Cathy Gorlin, who has seen separately her Kappa Alpha housemate, David Drake, and her 22 Lawn Avenue housemate, Tory Rhoden Cohen [a Smith exchange student], at the Clark Institute in Williamstown. “Both were in fine fettle,” she observed.  

Michael Lehrhoff and his wife, Lisa, have raised their family and lived in the D.C. suburbs for the past 36 years. She is a retired teacher, and Michael is a (mostly) retired government attorney.  They have some big plans. “We have decided to move to Santa Fe and will be bidding adieu to Maryland next April. It is an area we have visited many times, and we’re looking forward to embracing it as our new home for the balance of our retirement.” Hopefully they’ll be able to work in a visit to Middletown in late May, despite the big move. Did I mention it’s our 50th Reunion yet? 

Update from Professor John Cavadini: No changes on the professional front at Notre Dame, but the grandchild count is increasing to 19 in the Cavadini clan. Can anyone top that? He reflects, “I have occasion to teach texts that I first read as an undergraduate at Wesleyan. I’m a little amazed and also grateful that someone had the patience to teach such texts to us undergrads.  I am amused by the marginal notations of my 19-year-old self. It’s also poignant because I don’t think the Wesleyan that I knew exists anymore, judging from the materials we receive.”  That sounds like an interesting conversation to explore at our Reunion. Will we see you there, John? 

Also in academia is Andrew Barnes. His two news items are:  1) publication of his co-edited (with Toyin Falola) volume, The Palgrave Handbook of Christianity in Africa from Apostolic Times to the Present; and 2) his recent appointment as head of the history faculty in Arizona State University’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in Tempe.  He adds, “I look forward to seeing everyone next spring.” 

Back in Middletown, here’s what’s going on with Amy Bloom. “I’m glad to be alive and healthy.  Still working and writing and now retired from teaching at Wesleyan, after a long, wonderful run. Just sold a mystery that is set at “Cromwell University” located in “Centerville.” An unpopular English professor is bludgeoned to death with a bronze bust of Nathaniel Hawthorne. THAT was fun! I’ll see folks at the reunion, including, I hope Leslie Brett ’76 and June Jeffries, my beloved roomies.” 

Across the country, Bonnie (Hunter) Samuels sent me some of her highlights. She retired from the geophysical fluid dynamic lab in Princeton, New Jersey, in 2016 and almost immediately moved to Creswell, Oregon. Bonnie and her husband, Stewart, have been traveling as much and as safely as possible. But most importantly for her, their son, Ryan, and his wife, Zara, married in 2022 and now have a little boy, Leon.  Bonnie’s delighted that Leon and his parents have relocated to Oregon, because she loves being an active grandma. She and Debbie Kosich keep in touch with phone calls and, better yet, visits when possible. 

I was so pleased Deborah Appel wrote this summer: “HelIo, Class of 1975! I live in Burien, Washington, a small town south of Seattle overlooking Puget Sound. My husband, Sam, and I moved here from Modesto in 2007 and love living in the Pacific Northwest. We have two kids, Sara and Ehud. Sara lives in Israel with her husband and two boys. Ehud lives in California with his wife and daughter. Sam is mostly retired from a career in psychiatry. I never had much of a career beyond teaching ESL and basic skills classes for a few years, but I did a lot of volunteering in the community and was active in our synagogue and our kids’ schools. I love walking in this beautiful and scenic area, cooking, and spending time with friends and family, and I’m involved in two storytelling groups. We visit our daughter in Israel once or twice a year and our son in California every three months, but now that granddaughter Sophia is getting bigger, they will be coming up here to visit starting at Thanksgiving. YAY! I look forward to reading about all of you and seeing your photos.”

Dennis Chin provided a full report on his career and family. An orthopedic surgeon, he retired from Kaiser Permanente after 31 years and then has worked part time for the Veteran’s Administration for the past eight years. Dennis has volunteered as an Oral Board examiner for the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons and participated in giving their annual exam for 25 consecutive years. He says, “I joined the navy reserves two months shy of age 63 while still working for the VA . . . . Updated retirement rules have recently allowed me to return to Kaiser four days a month. I now enjoy working with some of my former colleagues, as well as one of my daughters who is a physician assistant in the same orthopedic department that I was in for so many years!   

“In the navy, I was promoted to the rank of commander some years ago, equivalent to lieutenant colonel in the other military branches. The military has definitely been an adventure!  In April 2020 I was called up with about 48 hours’ notice to quarantine in San Diego for two weeks before heading to Gaum to care for sailors of the aircraft carrier Roosevelt. I packed my tropical clothes, limited to a backpack and sea bag. After five days, however, they released me from quarantine and sent me to New York City instead, arriving in late April.  Definitely NOT tropical weather! I was in a group called Operation Gotham that deployed to seven NYC public hospitals, and I worked in the Coney Island overflow ICU. Great experience, but at age 66 I was VERY worried about contracting COVID. Fortunately, despite hit or miss PPE and no vaccine, most of us escaped infection. More recently I returned from a three-week deployment to the Solomon Islands for the Pacific Games, berthing on the USNS Mercy hospital ship from mid-November until December 2023. Sadly, I will be separating from the navy this November after eight years, but it has been a great experience serving alongside our sailors and marines!

“My family continues to grow. Five of our eight children are now married. There are six grandchildren, and I am sure there will be more to come! The kids ask me when I will retire. I tell them ‘When it is not fun anymore!’ Truly, it is satisfying to make people better with one’s hands and knowledge, and to mentor younger doctors, nurses, medical and nurse practitioner students, and navy corpsmen.” 

I’m seeing a lot of Reunion Committee members on Zoom these days, including the indefatigable Steve McCarthy. He’s quite involved in documentary filmmaking these days. “For the past 13 years, I have been one of three partners at Quixotic Endeavors (www.quixoticendeavors.com) where we have funded/produced/distributed eight movies—all on iconic brands (e.g., Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany, The Carlyle Hotel) or iconic individuals (e.g., Harry Benson, Alan Pakula). This fall/winter, we are releasing two 90-minute films on Bob Mackie (the costume designer associated with Cher/Carol Burnett) and Bernie Taupin (Elton John’s lyricist/musical partner of 53 years). Oddly enough, when I first got involved in 2011, it was our late classmate Seth Gelblum who I sought out for advice and guidance. Seth’s partners at Loeb and Loeb still represent us!” 

As for your class secretary, I enjoyed a visit in May from Risa Korn, and we got Martha (Faller) Brown to come over from Berkeley for brunch. Professionally, I’m happily continuing my consulting practice that guides nonprofit organizations on strategy, policy, board governance and development, leadership training, and transition planning. I believe that consulting is best done by those who actually also get their hands dirty in the type of work they advise others about, so I joined the Board of Trustees of Hidden Villa (https://www.hiddenvilla.org/) and was elected chair in June. Celebrating its centennial this year, Hidden Villa is an environmental education, regenerative farming, and wilderness preservation organization that manages 1,600 mostly undeveloped acres. It serves about 50,000 people a year and sits at the edge of Silicon Valley. The mission spoke to me, the history and commitment to social justice inspired me, and the people and place delight me. On the personal front, after five years of closure for COVID, fire, or massive snow problems, Yosemite reopened its Tuolumne Meadows High Sierra Camp, where we’ve spent a week or more almost every summer of the past 25. Our stay this year was extra special, both because of the years we couldn’t go and because we celebrated our son Ethan’s wedding to his beloved Amanda on the banks of the Tuolumne River. We did it in high style for the wilderness—our small family and two guests walking to the site in wedding finery and hiking boots, carrying our own picnic lunch (including a wedding cake in the shape of a bear). The evening “reception” was dinner at the Whoa Nelly Deli, otherwise known in our family as the Gourmet Gas Station (Mobil), a 45-minute drive away at the eastern foot of the Sierras. We’ll have a larger wedding celebration with family and friends in a more accessible spot next summer, though the river and gas station venues were very meaningful for us and will forever be part of family lore.

Late-breaking item: Retired Judge Moore, known to us as JD, has published a very readable article in Bloomberg Law on principles for successful mediation at https://news.bloomberglaw.com. 

Keep those news items coming. I hope that these notes help remind you of the people, experiences, and intellectual growth that Wesleyan brought to your life.  And I hope that will inspire you to take advantage of virtual and in-person opportunities to reconnect and continue our learning in our 50th Reunion Year. I’m looking forward to seeing as many of you as can make it next May.  

Members of our class enjoyed a record-breaking reunion as well as an experience that exceeded many classmates’ expectations. Some folks spoke of the reunion “afterglow.” If you didn’t see the record-breaking stats, here they are: 117 reunion attendees (classmates), $21.3 million raised in total support, $774,846 raised for Wesleyan’s greatest needs, and 53 leadership gifts. Let’s all plan to attend our 55th, if not earlier!

Jonathan Raskin has been given an academic upgrade to clinical professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. 

Bob Gershen reports, “My wife, Debra, and I came to a conclusion after our 50th Reunion that after a dozen years we’ve had enough of Florida. So, we bought an old ranch house a half mile from our youngest daughter and her family in Detroit and are rebuilding and modernizing it. We responded to all the positive vibes from the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival that we attended. This was in part driven by the fact that our second daughter’s latest film was accepted and screened Middlebury.”  

David Rynick updates us: “My second book, Wandering Close to Home: A Year of Zen Reflections, Consolations, and Reveries, was released on September 1. It’s a collection of short essays that seek to uncover the wonder of life through the ordinary, and sometimes challenging, realities of our lives. For more information go to https://davidrynick.com/wandering-close-to-home/ or find it at your local bookstore or online.

“Melissa Blacker ’76 and I continue to lead the Boundless Way Zen Temple here in Worcester, Massachusetts, now both in-person and online. I spend time in the garden, do a little life coaching, and we spend two days a week grandparenting two little ones in Waltham, Massachusetts.”

Christopher Moeller shares, “I am sorry I had to miss our class’s 50th Reunion. I had hoped to visit with some of the friends I knew during my short year-and-a-half enrollment at Wesleyan. However, life had other plans for me. Last January my wife was diagnosed with primary myelofibrosis, a type of blood cancer. We are still battling it and hoping to find a compatible stem cell donor.

“Best wishes to all of my classmates! If anyone comes through the Twin Cities, I would be delighted to reconnect. My contact information is in the reunion book.”

Arthur Fierman shares, “Sparked by conversations at our 50th Reunion, Ellen Driscoll generously offered to give a tour of her Grand Central Station mosaics installation, As Above, So Below to a number of our New York–area classmates. On June 24, we all met at the clock on the main concourse at Grand Central, and Ellen led us on an amazing tour of her work. After the tour, we had a great dinner at the iconic Oyster Bar Restaurant. In attendance for the tour and/or dinner were Ellen and husband, Steven, Pat Mulcahy, Jai Imbrey, Pam van der Meulen, Richard Orentzel ’73 and his wife, Bill Pearson, Inara de Leon, Charlie Steinhorn, Wayne Forrest, Steven Greenhouse ’73, and me and my wife, Shelly. 

“In August, my wife, Shelly, and I attended the 10th annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, produced by Lloyd Komesar. The festival is also like a mini-Wesleyan reunion, with many members of our class and surrounding class years attending each year. In fact, each year Wesleyan sponsors a cocktail hour during the festival for Wes alums (although this year’s had to be canceled due to a scheduling conflict). We were excited to spend time with quite a number of our classmates at this fantastic event, including (to name several): Wayne Forrest and wife, Jean, Claudia Catania and husband, John Cady ’71, Sarah Cady Becker and husband, Bob Becker ’71, Ellen Driscoll and husband, Steven, Pam van der Meulen and husband, Steve, Wendy Starr and husband, Jeff Kessler, Lyn Lauffer, Caroline White–Lesieur, Rick Gilberg and wife, Seth Davis ’72 and wife, and, of course, the irrepressible Lloyd Komesar and wife, Maureen. Hope to see more classmates and Wes folks at next year’s festival!”

And speaking of Lloyd, he was honored for his 10th year leading the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, which he founded. In honor of his service and “retirement” from this role, the Komesar Prize for Commitment to Culture and Community was named in Lloyd’s honor. 

In the second photo, Lloyd is seen on stage with the Vermont Teddy Bear he was awarded in celebration of this event.

Additionally, President Michael Roth sent the following letter to Lloyd: 

“Dear Lloyd,

“Congratulations to you on ten years of founding and leading the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival after your distinguished career in Hollywood. I know you will enjoy having at least a little more time to spend with your growing family. Thank you for your many years of volunteer service to Wesleyan, most recently with your 50th Reunion!  Go, WES!—Sincerely, Michael”

Monique Witt updates us on her family’s accomplishments. “Ben was commissioned to write a classical piece for the Lake George Music Festival. It’s an aleatoric piece (classical with some opportunity for choice during performance), but not his customary compositional style. He tells me classical musicians read and hear music with a very different vernacular than jazz musicians. He found it challenging. For anyone interested in contemporary classical, this festival is worth following.

“We had a Chicago wedding reunion weekend, sadly, but we hear it was wonderful. We’re still hip deep in sound: Ben has back-to-back tour travel: the South, Europe/Scandinavia, Iceland, West Coast, Japan, and Azores. New York City summer music is often outside, which means gigs at Lincoln Center Out of Doors and Open Streets, when they’re home. Dev finished development of the deployable algorithm and is back to producing the upcoming albums. Steven is in the thick of recruitment season—probably good, as his entire fantasy baseball roster is on injured status. Board work for me has been heavier, so some of the creative projects have languished. But good tennis, and we’re muddling through.”

Chris Neagle is now a performing artist! “My English Country Dance program performed a medley of tunes from the 18th, 19th, and 21st centuries at the Merrill Auditorium at Portland City Hall, Maine’s elite performance venue. Did you know that each dance has its own music? We danced to the mighty Kotzschmar Organ, a historic treasure, and the great house band from 317 Main, a wonderful community music program in Yarmouth. I now understand the joy my performing artist classmates have known for decades. Such fun!” 

Ada Jemison will definitely be there for Homecoming! She has fun photos from Reunion to share as well! And, yes, she still is basking in the afterglow!

Sandy Newman continues full-time pro bono advising of major donors and the Focus for Democracy donor network he co-founded. Evaluating programs through randomized controlled trials allows them to recommend programs that produce three or four times more votes for the money than typical programs. You can write Sandy for more info at sandynewman@gmail.com.

Claudia Catania provides family wedding photos. “Entire wedding party of our older son, Max Cady, and his bride, Shira Feifer, minus our daughter-in-law, Theresa Galli, off camera with her and Gavin’s youngest son! Max chopped down and trimmed saplings from our woods in the early morning—and instant huppah! John Cady ’71 in foreground on left, and me on the right. The whole mishpocha at our place for six days [in] July 2024.

“Max and Shira live in San Francisco; Gavin and Theresa in Denver, Colorado, and their business, 1000 Figs, is in New Orleans. Let us know if you live near Denver or San Francisco!! We’ve rented a carriage house on Gavin’s property!”

From Crystal Bay, Nevada, Chris Irvin writes that he missed our 50th “because of a fall that created a bubble in my lung. After putting a hole through my chest to clear the bubble, I couldn’t fly, though I felt fine.” He says he had hoped to visit Lloyd Mueller, who also had cancer, but he missed him, though he was able to talk to him shortly before he passed, around the time of our reunion. He says his son, Mathew, is doing well at our competitor, Amherst, following his father’s passion for music—mainly on the piano and mostly jazz like Lloyd. Chris adds, “My wrestling buddy, David Bong (also close to Lloyd, we both stayed with Lloyd at our 25th), was there to represent us. I’m enjoying semiretirement, taking care of my old key clients’ stock portfolios and publishing regular newsletters about the global economy and stock markets.” He is planning a trip to the Adirondacks with about a dozen high school classmates. He says, “Maybe I can get back to Connecticut one of these days, as I loved riding my bike along the high bluffs above the historic Connecticut River.” 

From South Phoenix, Arizona, Tom Kelly writes that he in enjoying a “blend of community work” and is involved with affordable housing and teaching English; and his fifth grandchild was born on August 11. He also says he is involved with Arizona politics and jazz and is a regular customer at “the Nash,” one of the area’s best jazz clubs. He is also in touch with Tom Lucci.

Michael Robinson, Bill Burke, and Jay Rose have done some amazing work. They write, “As Wesleyan class agents, we are so inspired by our class’s support and generosity. Each year, our gifts add up and make an enormous impact on today’s students and today’s Wesleyan experience. Take a close look below.

“This past year, our class raised $697,642 from 105 donors, including $176,849 for Wesleyan’s greatest needs. This means that we met our participation goal and Wesleyan will install a plaque on campus in our honor. More to come on that! We were part of a strong community of 11,680 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and students who gave back last year. Thank you to everyone who played a part in that.

“So, what did our gifts support? In a word, everything! From financial aid and first-generation student support to athletic equipment and summer grants, and everything else that defines Wesleyan for you. Because of our support, Wesleyan has been able to: 

• Announce its new No Loan Policy that eliminates loans from financial packages beginning this fall. 
• Award more than $75 million in financial aid last year. 
• Award 169 summer experience grants. 
• Raise more than $400 million for This Is Not a Campaign. 
• Launch the College of Design & Engineering Studies (CoDES). 
• Open the newly renovated Public Affairs Center and continue construction on both a new science building and an integrative arts lab. 
• Welcomed the inaugural class of Wesleyan African Scholars.”

Billy Burke writes that he and Barbara had a “great family-oriented summer. We spent most weekends watching our grandson play in baseball tournaments, including one in Lake of the Ozarks (cool place!). Additionally, this allowed for wonderful time with our daughter and granddaughter. We also get to see our son quite often. I had the opportunity to participate with him in a charity sporting clays event to raise money for a veterans’ support organization. Our team came in first place!” He adds that “on a nostalgic note, I recently saw a notice that retail-store chain Bob’s Stores has filed for bankruptcy. We knew it as Bob’s Surplus.” He said work on McConaughy: A Rock Opera continues. The soundtrack now includes three original songs as well as a host of top tunes from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.

Bill Quigley writes that “Scott Schlieman and I worked together for the last year trying to organize swimmers from our era (and other athletes coached by John Edgar and Hugh McCurdy) to try to get the Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame to induct coaches John Edgar and Hugh McCurdy. Both coaches deserve it. While unsuccessful this time, it was wonderful reconnecting with athletes and friends from our era and keeping the memories of these extraordinary men alive. The last time the swim team won the Little Three was when Edgar was our coach, more than 50 years ago. Mike McKenna, one of the founders of the HOF, was very helpful in helping us understand the process.

“Also, Mike sent me a link to Tom Kelly’s blog [on Substack] about the Responsibilities of Citizenship, which is terrific.”

Bill says he has stayed in touch with Peter Cross, who lives in Austin, Texas, and celebrates Eeyore’s birthday annually. He says they often compare the actions of the governors of their home states. Bill and Dee live on the west coast of Florida and have two grandchildren in California. He is still involved with one of his sons in a CBD and cannabis manufacturing company in Puerto Rico.

Mike McKenna writes that “this 2024 fall season marks 100 years since the founding of varsity men’s soccer at Wesleyan. Hugh McCurdy, a young assistant football coach from Bowdoin, was asked by students to start a club team in 1922. The first varsity season in ’24 was highlighted by a 1-0 victory in Williamstown, and 1925 marked the team’s first Little Three title. Mac went on to coach for 42 years before becoming AD and retiring in 1968. A get-together is planned October 12 when the Cardinals host Williams at Jackson Field and there will be a Centennial Dinner at Fayerweather in April 2025. Hoping to see team star Mike Desmond back on campus, as well as co-captain Jon Corless and other classmates for the festivities. The class of ’73 had an undefeated freshman team, and later repeated as Little Three champs senior year.”

Mike adds that “Here in Vermont, this summer celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Middlebury New Filmmaker’s Festival, founded by Wes alum Lloyd Komesar ’74, which has become a wonderful event featuring more than 100 films and drawing enthusiastic crowds. This year will include the first Jeanine Basinger Prize for Student Film named in honor of the Wesleyan faculty legend.”

Bruce Kabel writes that “some of you may remember me as Bruce but I started my transition when I retired in 2020 and am now Brenda Kabel. Enjoying life in East Hartford with my wife, Laura—38 years and still going strong. My son, Jason ’05, just left Capital One after eight years to start his own AI company. Spending most of my time golfing, skiing, or playing pinball, and I was the 2022 Connecticut State champion in the women’s division. My daughter, Ariana, has recently started playing in the leagues with me. My niece, Hope Kabel ’14 got married in Cincy last week.”

Bill Corvo tells me that he has produced a docudrama on his father’s work with the OSS in Italy during World War II. It was produced in Italy with Ezio Costanzo—noted documentary filmmaker—and the Faeria Production company. He says they had the Italian premiere in Sicily at the World War II Museum in Catania, Sicily, in July of last year, and it was well received. Since then, they have produced the English language version with the documentary narration in English and English subtitles for the acting scenes. The docudrama is called Max Corvo for Freedom.”

And from Nashville we heard that Jim Powers, professor of medicine (geriatrics) at Vanderbilt and director of Clinical Innovation at the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, is pleased to announce his team is recipient of the Middle Tennessee Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

That’s our news for now.

Thank you all for heading my requests for good news and for photos! We’ve got a load of both to share with everyone and I do appreciate it!

Geoff Rips noted that the Poetry Foundation had recently published a poem by Mel Dixon ’71.  You can find the Foundation’s archive and tribute to Mel at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/melvin-dixon. Do check out his amazing “I’ll Be Somewhere Listening for My Name.”

Steve Scheibe took a biking and hiking trip to Italy (Bolzano, Dolomites, and Venice). He shares this picture of his feet in Riva del Garda.

George Zeller sends us these pictures of fishing in Maine.

Pete Clark has been promoted to associate professor (teaching) at the University of London School of Management. He is writing the sequel to his co-authored book, Masterminding the Deal.  The new, solely authored book is tentatively called Masterminding Mergers: Acquirer Success Program (ASP). This is, I guess, the real art of the deal.

Steve Blum’s daughter, Elena, got married on May 31. Mike Kaloyanides and Steve Goldschmidt flew out to Topeka for the festivities.

John Manchester sends this update of his creative output: “I have released a second album of orchestral music, Transformation.  

“Available: Apple Music https://rb.gy/cyv0fc; Amazon https://rb.gy/158wxi; and Spotify https://shorturl.at/Ya4zX.

“Videos are on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq4gg_vD2EzRUMWhn_zyGlw. Some feature the visual work of classmates Eric Kaye and Peter Stern.

“I’ve attached a few of Eric’s paintings and Peter’s photos.”

Larry Weinberg reports from Santa Fe: “Nothing new for me except a stent in the ‘widow maker’ coronary artery—doing well, trimming down, exercising more regularly. Opera season here in Santa Fe is underway—beautiful production of Rosenkavalier, world premiere of The Righteous; Elixir, Giovanni, and Traviata on tap. Red Sox are poised to break my heart once again, but still enjoy the games. My wife’s team is doing better (Guardians) but time will tell. On Wes ’72 adjacent issues: my daughter, Leah ’08, just got a new job as manager of Foundations and Grants for Rocky Mountain Public Media; and her husband, Scott Horowitz ’07, was granted tenure at University of Denver in chemistry (I think—his research overlaps chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, and science education).”

Nat Warren-White doesn’t seem to miss circumnavigation: “I’m enjoying ‘semiretirement’ in Maine and happy not to be traveling all over kingdom come for work anymore. Still teaching occasionally at Harvard Business School, helping execs from all corners of the globe tell better stories and connect more authentically and effectively with their people. And I’m working with a few drama therapy clients mostly via Zoom . . . something I hated when COVID first struck and now learned to love! 

“I’m also finding time to do some directing again locally, which is a kick. Most recently I worked with my old friend, Fateh Azzam, wonderful Palestinian human rights activist, to bring a bunch of teenage actors from the Middle East, Africa, Sri Lanka, and Maine together to tell stories from the hearts and mouths of their teenage compatriots living in Gaza and the West Bank. The piece is called The Gaza Monologues and has been restaged many times globally since it was first created in 2010. A collection of personal narratives about what it’s like to live under the constant threat and reality of war, ongoing now for more than 60 years. Audiences and actors alike have found the piece cathartic and deeply meaningful as we all struggle to make sense out of the continuing nakba or catastrophe in that corner of the world. After staging the monologues in Maine, I helped a group of teens on Orcas Island in the San Juans north of Seattle (where my son, Josh, and his family now live) create their own version. All very gratifying and helpful for them and me, too, as we each attempt to figure out what we can do to help. Feeling helpless is a recurring theme for kids and adults alike these days and finding a way to ‘do something’ in these challenging times means a lot to an old theater geek like me. Attached is a pic of the Portland, Maine, Gaza crew. 

“Beyond this labor of love, I keep looking for ways to keep sailing in my mid-70s. I traded in my 43-foot Montevideo Bahati, which took us safely round the world a few years ago, for a sweet little 25-foot Cape Dory, which I inherited from an old friend. ‘There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats!’ to quote Ratty in The Wind and the Willows. My book, In Slocum’s Wake, chronicling our nearly five-year circumnavigation, is still selling well and available on all online and real-time bookstores . . . please support your local! Other than that, I’m a happy grampa looking to stay in ‘good trouble’ as John Lewis so aptly put it. 

“Peace and good health and happiness to all of my old WesTech friends! So good to see so many of you at our 50th! Onward!”

Andy Feinstein represented a group of parents in Killingly, Connecticut, in a two-and-a-half-year dispute over the school district’s “reluctance” to address student mental health and well-being.  You can read all about it and see Andy’s very distinguished picture here.

I simply cannot say enough about Andy’s splendid, ongoing work on behalf of special ed students and their parents. Not only is he still in active practice, Andy is also achieving amazing results in a vital area. Beyond my own personal interest, I am in awe of Andy’s dedication and achievements.

Bob White! sent us this: “In June, from Stockton, California, Butch Carson, aka, William Nelson Carson Jr., journeyed to Oslo, Norway, to witness his granddaughter’s ‘naming ceremony.’ One-year-old Noelle is Butch’s second grandchild; nine-year-old India is his first. Butch’s son, William III, aka, Tre, is the proud father of the girls. Of course, Uncle Bob is proud of all of them.”

Art Wein’s daughter, Lauren, vice president and editorial director of Avid Reader Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, recently authored a piece in the Jewish Book Council’s BookWatch, identifying new publications of note, and describing her own philosophy: “My goal is always to publish fiction and memoir for a broad audience (though not nearly as broad as it would be if there were dragons), and I am privileged to work with a wide range of writers. Because of my background in biblical literature and my love for Jewish texts and history, I also tend to publish more than a few Jewish writers, and several of the books I’ve worked on recently are in conversation with classically Jewish subjects and themes.”

Art, our man from Yeshiva of Flatbush, has also shared with us this shot of him “doing my usual Rod Serling imitation while typically standing out as a sore thumb” among his wife’s family.

Finally, I once again attended the marvelous Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, produced by Lloyd Komesar ’74. This was the 10th year of the festival, and Lloyd’s last as producer. Here he is receiving an award and expression of appreciation from the closing night audience.

As usual, a huge contingent of Wesfolk was present. Other ’72ers included Tom Halsey, Mitch Willey, Mike Arkin, Mike Busman, Steve Goldschmidt, and Dennis Kesden. Steve got to present the Jeanine Basinger Prize for outstanding student film.

Greetings and aloha, 1971 classmates,

Here are the transitions I received:

Don Schellhardt was wondering if transitions meant “passing on.” Emphatically, NO, but those will be duly noted. We decided at our 50th to address in the class notes changes in our lives as we progress through our eighth and ninth decades and beyond (if we make it that far). So, inform us all on what transitions you are making in this life.

Don also writes, “After living in Northern California for five years, I grew weary of high rents and missed the gentle beauty of the East. Now I live five miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line. . . .  I am also seeking opportunities to speak in public about mental health issues.” (Don Schellhardt, new contact information: 90 Manor Drive Apartment #103 Hagerstown, MD 21740; holyokerange1124@gmail.com; 203/312-3921.)

George Lehner (galehner@gmail.com) received the President’s Award at the White House Correspondents’ Association. George served as the association’s counsel for 18 years. You can read more here: WHCA award.

John Hester and wife, Elaine, visited Warren White in Richmond, Virginia, in July, in between tours of Japan and the Dalmatian Coast. Warren is a volunteer prep cook for Feed More, a 34-county/city community feeding program, and volunteers for the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. The late Rick Ketterer ’69 was remembered as John’s Delta Tau Delta brother and the articulate tour guide who introduced Warren to WesU in fall 1966. (Warren L. White, 1025 W. Grace St., Apt. 515, Richmond, VA 23220–3634; 615–678–9146; warrenwhite1949@gmail.com.)

For the second year in a row, Bob Yaro sailed his wooden Herreshoff sloop to Martha’s Vineyard where he rendezvoused with Blake Allison at his home on Chappaquiddick Island. Blake took the helm for a sail on Nantucket Sound and also led a guided tour around Chappy. And Blake’s wife, Lindsay, served dinner on the deck overlooking Edgartown Harbor.

Dick Scoggins “here in Glendale, California, since 2020, after 16 years in England working with a mission agency that focuses on the Muslim world. Before that I was a pastor (believe it or not) at a church in Warwick, Rhode Island. I went to graduate school at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and ended up surprisingly finding Jesus. While I was in England, my two children moved out here to Los Angeles to get in the movie/TV industry.  So, once we were done in England, we moved to Glendale, a suburb of Los Angeles. My son, Nathan ’99, is also a Wesleyan grad. Quite a journey and still evolving as I became convinced in England that we needed to have a multigenerational family model. So, our daughter and her husband live with us with their three kids, and my son and his family live 10 miles up the road from us. Quite a journey!”

Joe Summa asks if this is transition news. YES!  “I’m still practicing labor and employment law in Connecticut and [am] still heavily involved with inner-city basketball programs for youth.  In terms of Wesleyan news, however, I have just been informed by the athletic department that I will be inducted into the Wesleyan Hall of Fame on November 1, 2024. [Here is the link: 2024 Hall of Fame class] It has been great hearing from former teammates and friends and hopefully will reconnect with more over the next few months. Thanks.” (Joseph B Summa, Summa & Ryan P.C., 228 Meadow Street, Suite 303, Waterbury, CT 06702; office: 203–755–0390; cell/text: 203– 597–7440.)

Dave Lindorff says: “About to begin an exciting adventure. My wife of 54 years (we married in a tree on Foss Hill at sunrise in June 1970 with friends on other branches) [and I] are about to head off to Cambridge University for Joyce’s nine-month sabbatical as a fellow at Clare Hall (where we’ll be living) and a visiting professor of early keyboard music in the music department. While she is performing and doing work on a book, I will be free to pour through six newly discovered file drawers of materials belonging to Ted Hall, the teen atomic spy at Los Alamos who gave the Soviets the entire schematics for making the plutonium bomb used on Nagasaki. I am hoping over that period to receive newly re-declassified FBI files on both Ted and his older brother, which should be worth a new update chapter in the paperback edition [of Spy for No Country]. There should also be lots to write about from the UK, which is moving left while most of the rest of Europe—and possibly the U.S.—moves right.”

C.B. “Kip” Anderson writes: “It’s been a long time, especially due to the fact that I was unable to attend our 50th. Transitions can suck and be beautiful at the same time.  A little about mine:

“My semi-retirement from the business of gardening has allowed me to spend a lot more time on reading and writing poetry. But, dammit, my most compelling preoccupation is associating with my three grandchildren. There you have it. If you would like to read some cutting-edge formal poetry, then just send me your land address and you shall have it.” (cbanderson49@gmail.com)

My transitions: Bought a townhouse in La Jolla, California, across from UCSD. Still living in Kauai. So, I guess I have a new definition for bicoastal. Working for a biotech company developing a new drug for HPV+ induced cancers (head and neck, cervix, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and anal). A surprising increasing number of these cancers despite the vaccine for HPV, especially in 50-year-olds and older (partially related to sexual practices and can take 20 years to develop). It fits in with my previous work in new cancer drug discovery and also development of antiviral drugs. Now a project putting the two into one drug. It’s fun and keeping me occupied.

This week as I write this, I have experienced the transition of the other kind. Two friends in one week passed on beyond the rainbow. It seems peculiar that our brains stay young and make us, or maybe just me, think I am 50 but the body says no, much older. But I am dealing with that. Good exercise, an Oprah diet, travel and friends in many places, that’s the stuff of life. We should enjoy it while we can because when it stops, as Tim Walz says, “then we can sleep.”

Until the next Wesleyan alum magazine time, aloha all, and keep the news of transitions coming.

Aloha, everyone. We live in interesting times. Who would have thought that we would see a presidential campaign like the one we’re in, with the first incumbent president since 1968 pulling out of the running, with RFK Jr. throwing his support to the Republican Party’s nominee, and with a mixed-race woman (married to a Jewish guy) in a position to become the country’s first female president?

We’ll begin with news from Howard “Howie” Borgstrom, perhaps the first time he makes an appearance in the column. He wrote, “Not too much news here in Virginia. My wife, Carol, and I are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this month, first with a family dinner and then with cake and refreshments the next day, after church with our faith family. I keep busy with yard work here in Alexandria and at our ‘farm’ on the Shenandoah River. Plus, during inclement weather, I am actively dostadning, a Swedish word which translates ungraciously as ‘death cleaning.’ We have lived in the same house for 47 of our 50 years, more than enough time to accumulate stuff. My father left me a slide projector, screen, and two huge containers of slide carousels covering back to WWII! I am also the primary caregiver for my wife, who has been diagnosed with FTD (the same form of dementia as Bruce Willis), so the materials I discover in dostadning have to be explained, as if the first time, to Carol.”  

Had this a while ago from David White: “Okay, after a long lapse: I was invited by the New York Public Library’s Performing Arts Library to do an oral history concerning my life and 28-year performing arts producing career at New York’s Dance Theater Workshop. It encompassed six hours of comprehensive interviews, now digitally archived at the library, as well as a camera recording. The interviews should be available online (assuming you really don’t have anything else to do). The 10 years I later spent in a similar role on Martha’s Vineyard as artistic director of The Yard performance and educational center remains to be covered. I retired from there in 2020.

“I want to add a shout-out to Steve Talbot and his collaborators on the success of the documentary, The Movement and The ‘Madman.’ I worked with Steve, Dave Davis, and others from Wes’ progressive forces of 1969/1970 on portions of that film made at Wes, covering the 1969 March on Washington against the Vietnam War and supporting the civil rights struggle.

“Of course, we former student activists are intensely observing a new generation of passionate activists as they both act and learn through a new (and often unruly) protest movement. Despite unacceptable violence toward Jews, Muslims, and other groups, this is indeed a moment of societal self-education—as it was five-plus decades [ago].”   David invites you to join him on the Threads social platform. He says, “So far it’s a refreshing, progressive, content-strong, nonevil place.” He’s also on Facebook.

Russell Bradshaw wrote in April, and I don’t see his note in the previous column, so here goes: “I retired after 30 years teaching, associate professor Lehman College CUNY. Now live in Stockholm, Sweden, with my wife (of 50 years), Gunilla. Presentation on social ‘influence processes’ at the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) in Barcelona in July: ‘You’ll See It—When You Believe It’: The Role of Belief in Cult Recruitment.”

This note from my KNK brother, Gerry Cerasale: “At our age it’s time to retire. 😂  I’m still enjoying my time on the Eastham Select Board. However, I’m continually amazed at the ‘pressing’ issues that citizens raise. Eastham is in the midst of facing a state mandate to put in sewers and [a] wastewater treatment plant, covering new bonds for installing a new water system (before 2020 there were no fire hydrants in town), and paying its part of a $170 million high school; and the pressing issues from many citizens are pickleball courts and usage and dog walking. I’ve learned that many times it’s the little things that count.”  

Had this brief note from Peter Ratner in New Zealand: “I think you have my news.”   Indeed, I do, because Vera and I got to New Zealand (via a quick stopover on Christmas Island and two days in Fiji) for a truly unforgettable 19 days of exploring on North Island in June. Peter’s been there since the early ’80s, practicing law. It’s an amazing country. I truly can see why my father fell in love with it in 1947 when his naval ship, damaged in the ice in Antarctica, was towed there, “forcing” him to spend a month on South Island. All I can say is that I wish I had visited Aotearoa a long time ago. But back to Peter: he’s retired and married to a lovely, retired nurse named Carol, with a blended family spread from New Zealand to London to Australia. He and Carol are great fonts of information about New Zealand, great tour guides, and great hosts. They have a gorgeous, historical house in Greytown, over the mountains from Wellington. They unfortunately are selling it and returning to Wellington full time. (But fortunately, a daughter lives near the Greytown house.) Cheers! “She’ll be right.”

After a long pause, I heard from Corey Rosen who says, “I am still working (mostly as a volunteer, close to full time) for the organization I founded 44 years ago, the National Center for Employee Ownership. We will grow to 23 staff by the end of the year. We focus on research, information, meetings, and outreach to help encourage more companies to share ownership broadly. This May, I was one of the featured guests on Freakonomics, which did an hour-long podcast on the subject.”

I hear frequently from Jeremy Serwer, the Brooklyn Cowboy of northern Connecticut.  Here is an email that he sent to a group of classmates: “Life really does have some simple pleasures. I always wanted to ride a horse in a parade. This year’s Memorial Day was my third straight doing so, representing America’s oldest theft detecting society—The Woodstock (Connecticut) Theft Detecting Society, founded in 1793. I’m the treasurer, as well, and a designated ‘pursuer’ per the original society constitution: It’s the pursuer’s job to posse down and catch (primarily) horse thieves. 

“Fortunately—and perhaps gratefully—there are no covenants in the society’s constitution prohibiting Jewish guys from handling the money, which goes to paying the costs of chasing thieves, etc. Today, it’s all symbolic: We have an annual luncheon in January, read the constitution (called for in the constitution), collect the 25 cents dues, and have a guest speaker—for which my connections to law enforcement folks have been invaluable.

“Wouldn’t the Woodstock founders (12 of them, from Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1684) be surprised; [the newspaper] picture below contains the proof. The other rider is one of my farm neighbors who also serves as a pursuer. The cowboy garb is off by a century, but often requested and welcome. And I was tempted to wear my six-guns . . . for which very few would have cared, but alas, open carry was outlawed in Connecticut earlier this year.

“The parade lasts about 10 minutes (a quarter mile), so you can’t blink. They follow it with speeches honoring veterans, those lost in wars, a firearms salute, music by the Woodstock Cornet Band (ongoing since the 1850s), an occasional low-altitude U.S. Air Force flyover (amazing how they time those), and we hang out on the town green for kids to come and greet the horses.

“I finish up with a quick gallop the length of the green back to the horse trailer. Fun in the country, and my idea of at least one retirement gig.”

Gordon Fain sent a great email to encourage attendance at the reunion in May: “Here’s a quick note to recommend our May 2025 Reunion in person as an economical weekend with a great variety of in-person informal coffees and receptions; film and lectures; and interactions with current senior and young scholars. Also talking with a woman Fulbright Scholar from India, a young unicyclist from Connecticut, and alumni from classes of ’67 through ’69 was great for me and my wife, Lila. Dave Freedman ’69 invited me [to this year’s Reunion weekend], and I enjoyed it so much I came back a second day. Good hotels on Main Street Middletown and in Cromwell. Alumni Affairs keeps costs fair, with many free venues. If you want golf or farm market fruit, they are near at Lyman Orchards, Middlefield. Bradley International Airport–Hartford is one hour by car and easy drive.” 

Robert Stone (aka “Stony” and “Robert Mark Stone, the Trumperick master”) recently visited Nantucket with family. Photo with wife, Nancy Baxter.

Finally, I am glad to report that the trio on O’ahu are great dinner companions. I was fortunate to be able to get together with them a few weeks back. Great company, great minds, great conversation. Here, from right to left:  Elbridge Smith, Bill Tam, Peter Kalischer, and myself.  (BTW, I didn’t suddenly widen 35%. That’s lens distortion.)

OK, so you all be well. Write if you get work and meantime, hang by your thumbs. (Good job if you get that reference. We need some more B&R in our lives.)